Are you as fearful of terrorism today as you were on Sept 11th, 2001?

[kentuck]

If not, what has changed to lessen your fears?

If you are as fearful today as you were on 9/11/2001, what could the government do to make you less fearful?

[el_bryanto]

1. I am about as fearful I guess

I mean after 9/11 you accept that terrorism in the States is a possibility that it could affect me. Of course where I live isn't likely to be a high priority target - but still.

That said I don't think there's anything the Government could do to make me less fearful of Islamic or Homegrown Terrorists - they could take some steps to make me less fearful of them.

Bryant

[msongs]

2. about the same, which is not at all. more likely to shot by a 2nd amendment supporter n t

[Phentex]

34. same here. I am more likely to die in traffic or

have a tree fall on my house. Those are my real fears.

[Mojorabbit]

37. Same here. Was not fearful then and am not now.

I am a second amendment supporter and am not afraid of them either.. I live in the lightening capital of the US and have had trees in my yard struck several times. If I worried about anything it would be that and it rarely crosses my mind.

[think]

3. I was sad on 9/11

and fearful for what would happen if the hearts of America became blackened and hardened. My fears were realized with America's first declared preemptive war against a country that did not attack us.

Today the actions by whistle blowers and a few key Senators and congresspeople have alleviated much of my fear as has the changing opinions on national security by the majority of Americans...

[Melinda]

4. I was not fearful on 9/11. I was angry, confused, and heartsick, but not afraid.

If were to fear, then I'd most likely fear my own government. But that's a different thread.

[JI7]

22. i felt a lot of sadness then and for some time afterwards, but was never scared

if i was on the east coast and especially NYC i would probably feel different.

[Melinda]

26. I was living in Atlanta at that time... the quiet of the City was deafening.

We were all stunned. I recall having to run to Kroger (grocery) that afternoon (noonish est) and all one could hear in the store was the television anchors on CNN.... there was almost no talking within the store, although there was lots of muffled crying. We were all and each of us as zombies. Was surreal. And terribly sad. Still is all these years later.

Like you, I most probably would have felt fear if in NYC or the greater area.

:::sighz:::

[sinkingfeeling]

5. I've never been fearful of foreign-based terrorism. I'm more afraid of my

fellow citizens, but I don't really worry about either.

[octoberlib]

6. No.

The average American has a better chance of being killed in a car wreck or by a bee sting than in a terrorist attack. If Congress was really worried about protecting Americans than why didn't they pass gun control legislation?

[eissa]

7. Sadly, yes

I live about an hour east of SF, and we go to the city fairly often. There isn't a time when I don't cross the Bay Bridge or Golden Gate that I don't secretly wonder if some lunatic doesn't look at all that traffic and think "bingo."

Now that SF was awarded the Super Bowl venue in 2016, we've been talking about going. And, yes, I do feel a bit anxious. What better event -- filled with thousands of people and viewed by millions -- for someone to do something really tragic.

I hate to give a voice to these fears, but I have them, and I don't know what -- if anything -- the government could do to alleviate it. But whatever they can LEGALLY do to ensure our safety, I'd be on board with.

[kentuck]

9. Does your fear come from actual terrorist attacks...?

...Or from the authorities talking about it all the time?

[eissa]

14. As irrational as it may sound

it's from the attacks themselves. Even though I realize the chances are slim, even though I realize a dozen other things are more likely to kill me, I can't help but quietly fret about it. Anytime I'm at a huge public event, or a tourist destination, the thought does occur.

[kelliekat44]

8. I am more afraid of the gun nuts and those who want to overthrow the US government and the corporati

corporations and big money interests that are sowing the seeds of dissent and mistrust of our government for their own gain.

[upaloopa]

10. I was never afraid of terrorism. I watched the towers burn

and saw the plane hit the second tower on TV while I was getting dressed for work.
To this day I do not see 9-11 as the awful thing other people see it as. We should have seen it as a police matter and sought to find out what motivated it.
Because people blew 9-11 so way out of proportion we have had two wars the patriot act and Americans surrendering their freedom for some perceived notion that doing so will prevent another 9-11

[kentuck]

13. Few people thought the towers would collapse.

In fact, some businesses wanted their employees to go back to work.

But the huge loss of life resulted when they did indeed collapse. For the terrorists, it was a "lucky" strike. Some Arabs celebrated in the streets.

The "war on terror" began as a cover for Bush and Cheney's incompetence. They overlooked "intelligence" just like the type people are debating over today...

[geek tragedy]

24. "I do not see 9-11 as the awful thing other people see it as."

Well, given you had the luxury of watching it on television, sure.

[upaloopa]

27. I mean that we never should have or needed to have a war on terror.

I still believe in the lihop theory

[Laelth]

11. Equally.

I wasn't fearful of terrorism then, and I am not fearful of it now. Over 40,000 people per year die in automobile accidents in the United States. You know what I am afraid of? I hate driving, and I hate riding in a car with someone else driving even more.

Unless you never get in a vehicle and ride on the public roads, it makes no sense to be afraid of terrorists.

imho ... admittedly, people come in all stripes ... ymmv



-Laelth

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Not then. Not now. Our governments reaction to it is far more scary.

Like a madman trying to kill mosquitoes with a sledgehammer and smashing anything, or anybody, that gets in his way.

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. Wasn't afraid then, am not afraid now. I am though disgusted at what fear allowed to transpire

following 911.

[LWolf]

16. I was not fearful then. I am not fearful now.

I have not, in my entire 53 years, including 9/11/01 to the present, ever experienced a nano-second of fear of terrorism.

I have, from 9/11 forward, experienced continuously increasing levels of fury, disgust, and disdain for those who embrace fear; for those sheep who have allowed 9/11 to destroy our country by giving up our civil liberties to gain a false sense of security.

If I fear anything, it's the fascist neoliberal society that fearful Americans have allowed to develop, and the future it is leading us into.

It's not the government that can do anything to assuage that fear. That's in the hands of the majority. They can make me less fearful by being less compliant, less blind, less arrogant, less sheep-like, more aware, more willing to push back, more insistent on holding power accountable, more courageous, more principled, more determined.

[G_j]

17. I was never fearful. nt

[Solly Mack]

18. I wasn't afraid that day. I'm not now.

I was also miles away from actual events. Still, I wasn't worried my community would be next.

I was fearful of how Bush Inc would react, however. Rightly so.

What happened on September 11, 2001 was tragic and sad. So very sad. Horrible, simply horrible.

What happened afterward was a travesty of everything America claims to stand for.

[geek tragedy]

19. On 9/11/01 I was inhaling other human beings that had been

incinerated in my city, so no not quite as scared today as I was then. Especially since my wife was directly under the WTC in a subway when the first plane hit. And my father in law who was visiting went missing for hours while trying to return home by train.

But yes, I was frightened and unnerved that day. I'm happy for those who had the privilege of never being afraid on that day.

And, I know that for some fucked up reasons AQ etc have an obsession with killing people in NYC, so there is still concern, but not so much that we don't live our lives as normal.

[octoberlib]

39. Although I wasn't afraid on 9/11 ( I live in NC)

I would have been scared shitless if I was a resident of NYC. I'd probably be suffering from PTSD because of it. Watching it all unfold on TV was heart-rending. Glad you and your family got through it.

[geek tragedy]

40. Yeah, not knowing whether she was buried under rubble kind of sucked.

But, we got through it, and no PTSD to boot.

[JI7]

20. i was not fearful then or now

[randome]

45. Same here.

It was clear from the outset that 9/11 was a 'one-off'. Shit happens from time to time.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[onehandle]

21. More. Thanks to gun nuttery proliferation and the NRAGOP. nt

[KG]

23. still at the bottom of any of my fears of things that could hurt me.

[Cleita]

25. I wasn't fearful back then. I was fearful of the clown circus

that had gained power in Washington and who allowed 9/11 to happen whether willfully or through stupidity. I was afraid of them and what they could do for the whole time they were in power.

[Laelth]

28. Hear, hear!

You are quite generous in calling that bunch a "clown circus." I was seriously afraid that Bush would not lay down the reigns of government in 2009. When people wonder why Obama refuses to prosecute the previous cabal, the answer seems quite simple to me. If Obama had not promised to let them off the hook, I don't think Bush would have surrendered his power.

-Laelth

[geek tragedy]

29. To take your last point one step further, would we trust any

presidential administration/regime to relinquish power if they were all but guaranteed to be prosecuted on the flip side?

[Laelth]

32. Precisely.

The cornerstone of the American "peaceful transition of government" model is that previous officeholders can not be prosecuted for crimes they committed while in office. Our founders learned a lot from studying the U.K.'s bad example. Prior to the Glorious Revolution, U.K. monarchs would lop off the heads of their enemies when they came to power, and our founders thought this was a bad idea. Jefferson enshrined our peaceful transition model in 1801 when he refused to persecute the Federalists who had viciously persecuted Jeffersonian Republicans when they were in power from 1789-1800.

So far, this model has worked for us.

-Laelth

[Cleita]

31. Wow! That's an interesting hypothesis and

it makes sense. I never thought of it that way. Thanks for your insight.

[Laelth]

33. You are very welcome. n/t

-Laelth

[Duer 157099]

30. Exactly the same amount. Which is to say, ZERO. n/t

[Egalitarian Thug]

35. I guess so. I wasn't afraid then either. n/t

[a la izquierda]

36. Not in the slightest.

In 2001, I had only recently moved away from home in suburban NJ. I was 23 and 9/11 scared the hell out of me. I wouldn't fly, couldn't sleep, was scared to be in public places.

What happened? I grew up and realized I have enough stress with problems I CAN control, let alone panicking about things I cannot.

[Logical]

38. No, the chances are almost nothing. 9/11 will never happen again unless someone gets a nuke. n-t

[Ohio Joe]

41. hmmm, fearful... I want not fearful either then or now but...

I do think there is a bigger chance of terrorism (in the US I assume) now. Waging a war across the world was about the stupidest response to 9/11 we could have done.

[BlueStater]

42. I was never afraid.

You have a far greater risk of being killed in an automobile accident than you ever would in a terrorist attack. That being said, we don't fear cars, do we?

[AsahinaKimi]

43. I think there is more chance of

A giant earthquake, followed by a Tsunami to cover the city is more likely than a Terrorist attack, and I try not to think about that either...

[HarveyDarkey]

44. Haven't changed

Wasn't fearful then, not fearful now.

[SteveG]

46. What made me most fearful that day

was that the Admin would use the event to destroy many basic liberties and freedoms of American Citizens. Sadly I was right.

What would lessen my fears, repeal of the Patriot Act.